The present invention relates to stringed instruments, such as, acoustic guitars, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a novel acoustic guitar assembly which includes a soundboard and/or head-plate made of decorative non-wooden material.
A typical acoustic guitar has a hollow body connected to a neck. The hollow body has a soundboard with a soundhole, a backboard spaced from the soundboard, and a shaped sidewall which extends between the soundboard and backboard. Typically, these components are constructed of choice pieces of wood.
Prior art designs have attempted to improve upon the strength and durability of acoustic guitars without adversely affecting the playing qualities of the guitar. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,958 which issued to Dresdner et al. and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application discloses an acoustic guitar assembly having a wooden soundboard with an improved soundboard bracing structure and an improved neck to body joint.
Acoustic guitar bodies have also been manufactured from non-wooden high pressure laminate materials. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,874 which issued to Witchel and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application discloses an acoustic guitar constructed from relatively inexpensive, non-wooden materials. The hollow body of the guitar, including the sidewall, soundboard and baseboard, is constructed of sheets of synthetic resin laminates, such as, melamine impregnated resins impressed over phenolic kraft layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,592 which issued to Teel and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application provides another example of a guitar body made of high pressure laminate materials. U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,309 discloses a method of manufacturing a guitar body made of high pressure laminate materials. Such guitars made of non-wooden laminates provide an economic alternative for the purchaser of a high quality acoustic guitar, and due to dwindling wood resources, provide an ecologically-friendly alternative to traditional solid and laminated tonewoods.
Although the above-mentioned acoustic guitar assemblies accomplish their intended purposes, there is a need for a high quality, durable acoustic guitar which is at least partly constructed from alternate non-wooden materials which provide both a novel decorative appearance and superior acoustic performance. In particular, the soundboard of the acoustic guitar should be made of a non-wooden material which provides a unique decorative appearance and which is capable of structurally withstanding the forces created by tensioned guitar strings. In addition, other components of the acoustic guitar, such as the head plate, can also be constructed of similar decorative non-wooden material.
With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a high quality acoustic guitar which can be manufactured economically relative to traditional all wooden acoustic guitar models.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an acoustic guitar with at least a soundboard and head-plate constructed of a non-wooden material which provides a unique decorative appearance and which does not adversely affect the tonal qualities of the guitar.
More specifically, the present invention provides a stringed musical instrument having a hollow body and an elongate neck extending from said hollow body to a headstock. The hollow body is formed of a soundboard with a soundhole, a backboard spaced from the soundboard, and a sidewall extending between and connecting the soundboard and backboard. The soundboard is made of a solid sheet of metal, and preferably, the headstock has a head plate which is also made of a sheet of metal. In addition, preferably the outward facing surfaces of the metal soundboard and head-plate are decorated, for instance, by having a pattern etched or sanded into the metal surfaces.